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Sleeping Through the Night and Getting Baby off Breast?
1. Are you sure you want to wean him from the breast? I know it might seem easier at first glance because it might decrease his dependence on you, but in the long run it just adds more work. Why add in bottles to clean and formula to mix (and buy!) if you don't have to. Since you are his primary care-giver as a stay at home mom then you will be the one giving him all of those bottles and washing them. If you just stick it out with breastfeeding a few more months then you can by-pass bottles all-together.
In addition to the bottle issue, weaning a baby from breastmilk in the winter months may mean an increase in illnesses. Who wants to deal with that?
2. As for the sleep issue, I have found that with all 3 of my children that "sleep begets sleep", meaning the more sleep they get, the easier it is to get them to sleep and sleep well. Babies who are overly tired do not sleep well. I would suggest putting him to sleep earlier in the evening (7-8pm is normal). Watch for sleepy signs (rubbing eyes, fussing, losing interest in whatever you were doing, looking away when you try to talk to him, etc.) and put him in bed at the first sign of sleepiness. If he usually nurses to sleep, try nursing him until he is drowsy and then lay him down. Do the same for naps. Also, if you know he tends to wake up 10-15 minutes after you put him down, then be there to pat him back to sleep. Sometimes babies wake up while they are still in the light sleep phase and then can't get back to sleep. If you are there as soon as he starts to stir and can gently pat or rub him until he goes into deeper sleep you may be able to help him learn to sleep longer.
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Sleeping Through the Night and Getting Baby off Breast?
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Sleeping Through the Night and Getting Baby off Breast?
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Sleeping Through the Night and Getting Baby off Breast?
My oldest was really stubborn about the bottle too. It can help if you're not the one presenting the bottle. If there's someone you can leave him with where the bottle is the only option, he may take the bottle. Babies often resist taking the bottle from mommy--they aren't stupid! hahaha
My 10 month old takes 30-minute naps, so I know what you're talking about. She seems happy, so I'm not going to worry about it. Maybe once you get nighttimes straightened out, the naps will fall into place. I wonder how he would nap if someone else put him down? My baby seems to sleep better for the sitter than she does for me!
How long has he been up 2-3 hours a night? If this is relatively new, he may by teething or perhaps is about to hit a developmental milestone. If it's not new, then you may just have a habit on your hands. He's become accustomed to it and will need readjustment! Those are never easy, but if you're firm and consistent, you can get him into a different routine. He'll eventually accept it as normal. With a kid his age, I would be really gentle about it and comforting, but I don't have the stomach for the crying it out method.
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Sleeping Through the Night and Getting Baby off Breast?
I'm sorry I can't help with the first problem but for the sleeping issue you could try keeping him awake through his first 2 naps of the day. This will be rough at first, no doubt about it, but once he gets into the swing of the new routine he'll likely settle right in. It sounds like everytime he's the least bit sleepy he goes ahead and takes a cat nap, problem is when this happens he rarely gets quality sleep making him overtired. When he starts to want to go to sleep the first couple of times during the day try to stimulate him with toys, games, peek-a-boo, go for a walk outside, talk with him, show him a new book, etc. Keep this up until it's time for his usual third nap of the day - or as long as you can hold him off - and then let him go to sleep. He'll may not sleep longer the first time, simply out of habit, but slowly and surely his sleep times will adjust with his new awake times and he'll fall into a managable schedule. If he falls asleep before a reasonable nap time while nursing you can always break his latch mid-nurse to wake him back up, keep this up until he stays awake through the meal. Good Luck!
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Sleeping Through the Night and Getting Baby off Breast?
I am 100% with jess. Trying a host of different teats will probably be more effective than trying different fomula. Just to test this theory put some correctly made up formula on a tea spoon and feed it to him. If he takes it then you'll know it's the teat and not the formula that is the problem.
If you find he will take it spoon fed from you perhaps try him with a sipper cup. You will have to hold him, of course but my thought behind this is that once he gets a taste for the formula he might be willing to try to get to it through any old teat. You never know whats going to work with babies.
My daughters prefered teat is a tommee tippee self regulating teat. It is nipple shaped but with nobbley bits on it and it has a cross cut top instead of a hole which means the flow varies depending on how much the babies squeeze the teat which in turn opens the cross cut.
You can get them in supermarkets in the baby aisle in Aust, I don't know about the U.S. but I'm pretty sure they are made in the U.S. so I'd imagine them to be readily available.
Another alternative is to express everything and flat out refuse to give him your boob and only offer him the bottle, mabe with the breast milk in it which he will be able to recognise by smell it might be more apealing. Also make sure that you hold him in as close as possible to the same position that you have him in when breast feeding.
As for the sleeping I suggest that you do not pick him up at his first sign of wakefullness especially in the day time, leave him there for another 15 mins if he's had 15 mins already. Go outside with a magazine and a coffee. He's 8 months old, he's not going to go anywhere, but he will cry and that's hard to hear which is why going outside is your best bet. Set your cooking timer if that helps and only see him and pick him up when he has been in bed for a full half an hour, even if it was only for 15 minutes sleep. I believe that if you do this consistantly within 4-5 days he will increase his actual sleeping time to half and hour, when you have succeeded in this give him a week and then increase it by the same method for another 15 minutes, because min. he requires 2 45 minute sleeps in the day.
With any luck changing his day time sleep patterns may slightly alter his night time sleep patterns. However. You will no doubt be in for a few hard nights and it is best to have some back up during the night time sleep changes.
Try and have it so your partner is on days off and you can work in shifts. failing that perhaps you can ask your Mum, sister or a friend to help you out and you are looking at at least 4-5 nights of control crying and re-settling.
The only real solution is to control cry with soothing in between for reasurance, but try not to go to him straight away, and try not to make eye contact with him when you are stroking or patting him. Don't take him out of his cot. It might take up to 7 days worse case and 3 nights is about the best case senario. It will be very hard but keep telling yourself, it is one week out of his life time and things will be better after that.
As long as you are positive that he has had enough to eat he is well and truely old enough to skip a night time feed, though this habbit will be hard to break especially if he is used to being fed back off to the land of nod. He is going to want it as that isn't a bad way to be sent off is it. A nice cuddle, some patting or rocking the smell of the one you love the most and a nice warm drink of milk. I'd yell if it was suddenly to be deniged me, but hey, you don't always get what you want. And he will survive and thrive, and even more so if his Mummy is well rested.
You need to remind yourself when he is crying out for you with his heart wrenching sobs that you are doing this for the betterment of you both.
You are a SuperMum if you look after yourself first.
Best wishes to you, you'll be fine.
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